Campaigning in National Language

Being a Bhutanese citizen, it is the sole responsibility of every Bhutanese to be able to read and write fluently in our National Language, Dzongkha. It is of utmost importance, and I think every Bhutanese or even people around the globe would agree to my statement. Having said that, we should not forget that there are major chunk of Bhutanese in remotest parts of the country who can’t speak and understand Dzongkha, our National Language.

While we understand the importance of campaigning in national language in common forum for our election processes, we should also keep in mind if our messages are getting conveyed. I’m trying to refer to what I observed in the Bhutan Broadcasting Services’ television show. I know that all the aspiring candidates are well qualified and will surely benefit the people of our communities and nation as a whole. But, what is surprising is, some of our aspiring candidates can’t even speak the pre-written statement, forget conveying the message if asked a question by genuine voter who has a doubt to clear. Now, when our “qualified” personal finds it very hard to speak Dzongkha, imagine the state of our remote people whose native language is not Dzongkha. Dzongkha might be sounding like GREEK to them. I mean for those who have never undergone either monastic or modern education.

Many of us blame those aspiring candidates for not being able to speak Dzongkha properly. While we have every right to make our statement as they are suppose to be fluent in Dzongkha, having introduced to the language in schools as a major subject requiring one to pass. We should also understand that they are not trying to convince people their fluency in Dzongkha. I also hope that peoples’ vote will not be determined by language fluency.

My suggestion for common forum:

-          Make an opening statement in Dzongkha

-          Speak only language(s) where both listeners and speakers are comfortable. Following such an initiative would not only make it easier for the speaker to speak but also for the listeners to listen. This would ensure proper conveyance of message.

I feel that, if such strategy is being followed, people can decide themselves on whom to vote. This would also ensure choosing right candidates.

Being a Bhutanese myself, I feel quite uncomfortable to make public presentations in Dzongkha as I find it really difficult to find right substitute for the word. While I can proudly display my mark-sheet showing distinction in Dzongkha during my schooling days, I will have to admit that I find it really difficult even to speak now, forget getting spellings correct while writing. I feel that, our system is to be blamed for this as we do many official works in English and not in Dzongkha. It is very high time for Bhutan to shift towards writing all official correspondences in Dzongkha and not in English. I am now trying to revive my Dzongkha skills by reading literatures available in Dzongkha.

Paldhen Drupka Gyel Lo.